VIRGINIA
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION
ADVISORY COUNCIL
COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

Services of the Council

The
Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council, a state
agency, is an office with the expertise to help resolve disputes
over Freedom of Information issues. The FOIA Council answers
questions from private citizens, state and local public officials,
and the media about access to public records and meetings.
Under Virginia law, the presumption is that all documents
in the possession of public officials and all meetings of
state and local public bodies are open to citizens of the
Commonwealth. Of course, there are exceptions and these exceptions
can lead to good faith disagreements between citizens or media
and public officials.

By issuing
advisory opinions, whether oral or written, the FOIA Council
hopes to resolve disputes by clarifying what the law requires
and to guide future practices. The FOIA Council has no authority
to mediate disagreements, but may be called upon as a resource
to offer solutions to resolve FOIA disputes. As part of its
statutory duties set forth at §
30-179 of the Code of Virginia, the Freedom of Information
Advisory Council is charged with providing opinions about
the application and interpretation of Virginia's Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA), conducting FOIA training seminars,
and publishing educational materials. Click on the links below
to see more detail about the services that the FOIA Council
provides.